Alternating-current rectifier.



PATBNTBD PEB. 21, 1905.

W. BQCHURGHER.

ALTERNATING CURRENT REGTIFIER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.3. 1904.

F4@ o F @Mmmm @tbm/neg UNITED STATES Patented February 21, 1905..

PATENT OEEicE.

WILLIAM B. CHURCHER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO KENNON DUNHAM, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

ALTERNATlNG-CURRENT RECTIFIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 782,826, dated February 21, 1905.

Application filed September 3, 1904. Serial No. 223,183.

To au whom/ it 11i/ay concern:

Be it known that I, VVTLLiAu B. CHURGHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alternating-Current Rectitiers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled IO in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to iml'irovements in alternating-current rectitiers.

One of its objects is to provide improved I5 means for cooling or maintaining an even temperature in the electrolyte of the rectifying-cells without liability of the current to pass from one cell to the other by means of the cooling' medium, thereby preventing any 2O of the cells from influencing' or disturbing the action of the others.

It further consists in certain details of form, combination, and arrangement, all of which will be more fully set forth in the description of the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a top plan view or diagram of my improved apparatus. Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the cells on line o c of Fig. l.

VI n the accompanying drawings, A B represent the alternating-current line-wires.

C represents primary coilsin electrical connection with and receiving current from the line-wires. I) represents secondary coils cnergized by the current in said primaries.

E represents electrolytic cells, in which are located electrodes F F, of aluminium, and an electrode Cr, of platinum, carbon, or other suitable material. The electrodes F F' are respectively connected to the opposite termi- 40 nals of the secondary coils and the cells and secondaries connected in series by connections between intermediate points on the secondaries and the electrodes Cr. The connection of the cells and secondaries in series effects an increase in voltage of the rectified current over what could be attained with the use of one cell.

Where large volumes of current are to be rectified, the electrolyte is liable to become unduly heated, and it becomes necessary to cool the electrolyte in some manner. This I eii'ect by employing coils of pipe H. com posed of aluminium, which may be formed by casting, or constructed of drawn aluminium pipe, or in any desired manner. These coils are immersed in the electrolyte and preferably connected together by means of sections of rubber tube I in tandem series, so that a liquid-cooling medium may be conveniently circulated through the coils to extract the heat from the electrolyte. The action of the aluminium electrodes and the electrolyte in the respective cells is such that for low voltages, say less than seventy volts, the current will pass from the electrode G, acting as an anode, to one or other ofthe electrodes F F acting as cathode; but practically no current will pass between electrodes F F or between one of the electrodes F F', acting as anode, to electrode G, acting as cathode. For higher 7O voltages, say above seventy volts, a current is liable to pass from one electrode F to the other and both to and from electrode Cr, or from one electrode F to the coil and thence to the opposite electrode F. Therefore for high voltages a series of cells are preferably joined in series. It will be noted that current is free to pass from electrode of any cell not only to one of the electrodes F, but to thecoil H, which, if of iron, copper, or 8O other similar metal, would pass current through the cooling medium to the other cells, where the coil might act as anode to pass current to one of the electrodes F F', which wouldcarry the metal of the coil into S5 solution and contaminate and ruin the electrolyte, would divert the current from its proper path, and render the apparatus inoperative. By providing coils H of the same material as the electrodes F F the tendency of the current to pass from one cell to the other is prevented,lbecause even should the current pass from one coil to the other the action of the surface of the coils in contact with the electrolyte is similar to the action at the surface of the electrodes F F', and any current which might pass from one cell to the other by means of the cooling-coils could not enter the electrolyte of the cell in which the coolingcoil was acting' as anode and thus any disturbing' influence from one cell is not transmitted to any et' the others, while the cooling medium is free to pass through the coils and Y effect its purpose.

electrolyte of the cells and forming a passage for a fluid-cooling' medium.

ln an alternating-current reetiiier an electrolytic cell, an aluminium electrode, a mediul'n Vl'or coolingl the electrolyte and an aluminium wall interposed l'wtween the electrolyte and the cooling medium.

4f. ln an alternating-current rectilier, an electrolytic cell, a pair olf electrodes, one oi which is asymmetric in character, a ci rculating mediunrior coolingl the electrolyte, and a wall 0i asymmetric comlucting, material interposed hetween the electrolyte and cooling,l

medium.

In testimony whereof l have al'lixed my sig'- 35 nature in the presence ot' two Witnesses.

WILLI AM B. CH URC H IGR. lVitnesses:

C. W'. Minus, A, GC01-mami. 

